Slipknot's Knotfest at Somerset Amphitheater, 8/18/12

8:34 p.m.: Later, Moreno looked out into the crowd and greeted them, sort of. "That's my cousin Julio!" he shouted excitedly. "What are you doing here? Oh, that's not Julio. Hector! What the fuck are you doing here..."

8:37 p.m.: The rain started coming down in the middle of the already drama-fraught "Change (In the House of Flies)" and each bolt of lightning fed the band to take the song further into its melancholy.

Photo by Erik Hess

9:03 p.m.: The blistering "suck suck suck suck" chant of early hit "7 Words" took a turn for the epic as they rode the lightning exploding several times across the sky. Moreno's shirt was ripped open, and perhaps his entire being along with it. The majority of the Knotfest attendees were either parked under an available awning or freaking out in the darkness. Note to self: Should Deftones record future albums during thunderstorms?

Photo by Erik Hess

9:09 p.m.: The rain let up, and lusty fans chanted "Lamb of God" over at the Second Stage. The crew wavered between putting tarps over the speakers or taking them off for several quiet minutes.

9:12 p.m.: The skies parted again and droplets fell as hard as the had all evening. One guy leaned over to his friend and yelled "This is some Biblical shit." After heavy-hitters Lamb of God came out amidst the downpour, Gimme Noise's rain-spattered notebook added the entries "Hollywood shit" and "demonic shit." It's most likely that they played "Desolation" and "Ghost Walking" to start off, but with all of the bodies in motion, the angry elements spitting from the sky, and dread-locked vocalist Randy Blythe emitting a guttural onslaught unlike any other, these were blurry recollections.

Photo by Erik Hess

9:24 p.m.: After a few songs, Blythe understandably addressed the crowd. It was uncertain if Lamb of God would take part in Knotfest after he was briefly imprisoned in the Czech Republic for a charge of manslaughter stemming from a violent concert incident there two years ago. "It's so good to be home," he said. "God bless America." After performing "Walk With Me in Hell," he continued: "Slipknot said, 'You cancelled the tour, but could you still do the two Knotfest dates?' I said 'Fuck yeah.' You think Britney Spears or Ke$ha or whoever's fans would be out here in this? No, they'd be sitting on their fat asses at home."

9:56 p.m.: The rain stopped, and Gimme Noise shed some wet clothes in the car while Lamb of God boomed on some more.

10:17 p.m.: Blythe sounded sincerely touched when he gave a final thank you, but the core of hardcore maggots had already relocated to the Main Stage. A red curtain came down in front of it, and a determined security guard warned anyone remotely close to the barracade to move back.

@Skav Thanks dude. For a genre that doesn't much interest me, it was one of the best summer fests to attend, much less photograph. Easily the kindest, most un-judgmental crowd I've ever been in. Even got a few compliments on my KMFDM shirt

@AprilEl Probably another photographer that was in front of at least half of my photos. Wasn't the most packed photo pit but etiquette was in short supply, as it sometimes goes at summer fests. We were also told to stay back thanks to no-warning pyro that singed some arm hairs even at the back of the barricade. Would've preferred to post a shot sans hand but, hey, you've gotta run with what you've got. :)